Recent website additions:
1944 Dec 14 - Hamburg Iowa Reporter - Howard Hensleigh in Les Arc
Electricity for Beginners; Joigny, France, 1945
1944 Christmas V-Cards by Dick Spencer, done for the 3rd Battalion
596th PCEC Newsletters 1980-1983
Pvt. Richard Whidden, D Company
Col de Braus battle - 64th anniversary
Click on for details
Palm Springs, CA National Reunion
West Coast Party Salt Lake City
April 20-24, July 2009
Claire Giblin
Hi Ben,
I am just back from the Annual Mini Reunion in
Kissimmee. It was COLD!!! They said that it was the longest
cold snap in 8 years in Florida! However, it was warm inside, and it
was great to see so many old friends, and meet new ones as well! Leila
Webb and Helen Beddow did a fantastic job as our hosts! Plenty of food and
drink in our hospitality suite - which didn't close until the last guest went to
bed! It was fabulous!
Dick Seitz came all the way from Junction
City and looks wonderful! He brought us to our feet when he arrived,
greeting all of us "great Americans."
Patty and Dan
Smith came, looking incredibly great. Many of you might remember that they
had a terrible car accident on Christmas Eve 2007; Pat is lucky to be
alive. You'd never know it - they looked like they never missed a
beat.
Another standout Auxiliary guest was Brenda Mortenson, Jim's
new bride, which I think means that they are the most newly married 517
couple. Brenda is a gem and stepped right into our all-girl shopping
expeditions and outings.
Leo Dean and Hal Beddow both jumped on
Sunday! They were chaperoned by Allan Johnson, feet firmly on the
ground.
Chris Lindner did not get to make a jump. Leo had
planned to accompany her, and he dragged into breakfast looking like he'd lost
his best friend, sadly announcing that it was too windy on Tuesday to
jump. As so many troopers have said to me, they don't really mind, but Leo is our treasurer! I don't know if they think he might parachute
out with the money, or if they're afraid he'll hurt himself. Better luck
next time, Chris! It was still great to see you!
Joyce and Lou
Scaringi have not changed since I met them, and I loved having breakfast with
them. Irene and Sam Povitch were there, looking great as ever.
Ponnie came all the way from the West Coast! Leroy Johnson and Bill Webb
continued to trade stories until the last one went to bed, and the mortar
platoon was so well represented that they and their families took an entire
table at the banquet.
The Collins family was there in force, with
trips to DisneyWorld. Fantastic - plan on using this weekend as a family
trip next year. I loved it the year I brought my sons (in middle school at
the time). Jim would look around Epcot, stretch, and announce that he
needed to get back to the Hospitality Suite for a beer and a few war
stories. Helen and Hal Beddow are a joy, as usual.
Ben
Barrett, the one who's in charge of us all through Mail Call, was in great
form. He started the 517 website just over 10 years ago, on Christmas Day
1998. I have racked my brain to think of how to recognize him and his son
Bob Barrett for their incredible contributions to this fine unit. At a
time when the technology became available, Ben and Bob have done more than
anyone to secure this history, and we are all indebted to them. As I said
at the banquet, no thanks is great enough.
We still have three reunions
ahead of us: Palm Springs in April, Salt Lake City in July, and next
January in Kissimmee!
Hugs to my favorite vets -
Claire
Giblin
World War II History
1943 - U.S. President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister
Churchill concluded a wartime conference in Casablanca, Morocco.
1965 - Winston Churchill died at the age of 90.
Josef Goebbels -
Ministry of Propaganda - September 1940
Harry Truman, from Missouri , was a different kind of
President.
He probably made as many important decisions
regarding our
nation's history as any of the other 42
Presidents. However, a measure
of his greatness may rest on
what he did after he left the White House.
Historians have
written the only asset he had when he
died was the house
he
lived in, which was in Independence Missouri .
On top of that,
his wife inherited the house from her Mother.
When he retired
from office in 1952, his income as a U.S. Army pension
reported to
have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying
for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an
'allowance' and,
later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per
year.
After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess
drove home to
Missouri by themselves.
There were no Secret Service following them
When offered
corporate positions at large salaries, he
declined, stating,
"You don't want me. You want the office of the President,
and
that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people
and it's not for sale."
Even later, on May 6, 1971, when
Congress was preparing
to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th
birthday, he refused to
accept it, writing:
"I don't consider
that I have done anything which should be the reason for any
award,
Congressional or otherwise."
He never owned his own home and as
president he paid for all of his own travel
expenses and
food.
Modern politicians have found a new level of success in
cashing in on the
Presidency, resulting in untold wealth.
Today, many in Congress also have found
a way to become quite
wealthy while enjoying the fruits of
their offices.
Political offices are now for sale.
Good old Harry Truman was
correct when he observed,
"My choices early in life were either to
be a piano player in a whore house
or a politician. And to
tell the truth, there is hardly any difference."
